


Liquid Courage

by DreadedAngel (DreadFox)



Series: Adventures of Sariel Lavellan [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 11:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3487055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreadFox/pseuds/DreadedAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do after a breakup? Drink of course.</p><p>Set after that one scene in the Solavellan romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liquid Courage

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short I wrote for my 4k post on Tumblr. Anyways enjoy!

“What?”

It was all she could muster as Solas slowly backed away like she had a contagious disease.

“Please _vhenan_ ”

“Solas, please! Don't leave me now. I love you.”

It was those three words that meant everything and nothing. Everything if he embraced her and whispered them back in her ear; nothing if he continued to deny her.

“In another world...”

"Why not this one?"

"I can't. I'm sorry."

Like that he was gone and she was alone, staring at her own reflection in the pool of water nearby. Her face was bare, just liked she asked. For what price though? She had no clan that might even try and accept her. No lover’s comfort. Thedas became a much lonelier place in a matter of minutes.

*~*~*

There was an eerie silence that clung to the night throughout Skyhold. Sariel hugged her cloak tighter around herself, the cool air making her shiver. The silence bothered her, like it was a reminder she only had her thoughts to comfort her now. She pulled the hood of her cloak down tighter to hide her face from anyone that she might pass. She needed the peace even if it was temporary.

_What have I done?_

She could feel the tears well up at the corners of her eyes before she patted her cheeks. She had to hold on to her pride, it was all she had left. _No tears, not tonight,_ she told herself. Tonight she was going to drink and forget. She could still do that at the very least. Sariel squared her shoulders, lifted her head and walked. She knew who to speak to, or at least she hoped she did.

Sariel rounded the corner of the tavern to the training area. Sure enough, Cassandra was hacking away at one of the dummies. She watched the woman with her movements, precise and direct. There was still an amount of grace to the warrior’s moves, a skill she had never seen before becoming a part of the inquisition.

“Do you plan on watching me all night?” Cassandra called.

Sariel shook her head, remembering herself. She forgot how perceptive Cassandra was. Sneaking up on people was something she was good at and even she had trouble doing it to the woman. Sariel lightly tapped the bottle against the stone of the tavern wall, the distinct clink ringing out. “Got a minute?” She held up the bottle of wine, a smile just barely visible from under the hood.

“Of course,” Cassandra responded.

She sheathed her weapon, motioning for Sariel to lead. Rather than wait, Sariel bounded up the nearby steps to the battlements, taking two at a time. _She’ll catch up._ When she reached the top, the frigid crisp air hit her face, nearly taking her hood down with it. She shivered before climbing on one of the parapets, letting her feet dangle off the side. She carefully uncorked the bottle of wine, taking a deep drink from it as she heard the familiar clank of armor on stone.

“And here I thought you were going to share,” Cassandra chuckled.

“Sorry,” Sariel said. “You know me, I’m not the most patient person.”

“I can see that.” Cassandra stood in one of the openings of the parapet, leaning against it. Sariel passed the bottle of wine to her waiting hand. “Are you ready for this fight?” Cassandra asked.

Corypheus. The last thing she wanted to think about. Seemed like most things were off her thinking-about list tonight. “No, but I don’t suppose I’ll ever be.”

Cassandra sighed in response, “Of course. It is a lot to expect.”

“Is that different from any other situation we have been in?”

Cassandra didn’t response, simply handing the bottle back to Sariel. It wasn’t said in spite, but it was a truth the two knew too well. “I just realized,” Cassandra said, interrupting Sariel’s thoughts, “weren’t you supposed to be with Solas this eve?”

Those were the words she was hoping not to hear just yet. Sariel brushed the hair from her face before taking another swig from the bottle. “I was.”

“Well? What happened? We didn’t expect you back till much later.”

Sariel hadn’t accounted for what might have happened if she returned too soon. She figured Solas had rushed back to Skyhold after leaving her, so she thought it was only right she try and hurry back as well. She planned on keeping up appearances till she was ready to deal with the onslaught of questions. He still hadn’t returned though. Or he was simply hiding from her.

“I-“ Sariel started. She frowned to herself. Wasn’t this why she wanted to come here though? To talk? So why did the words struggle to find their way out? Cassandra was patient and waited for her to continue, but she couldn’t be gaping open mouthed forever at the nothingness. She had to say something. “Something did happen…”

“Care to elaborate?”

 _Now or never Sar,_ her mind hummed.

“We broke up,” Sariel blurted.

There was that eerie silence again, filling the air around them. Sariel put a hand to her chest. Had she stopped breathing? She took a huge gulp of air like a fish out of water because she wasn’t sure what else to do. She finally heard Cassandra move, her entire body shifting to look at Sariel who still couldn’t face her.

“Inquisi – Sariel, what exactly happened out there? I may not know much about this relation you two have, but maybe I can help.” Sariel could hear the concern in Cassandra’s voice; it only made her quiver though. She fought to hold back the tears again, reminding herself that tonight was not the night. She would save that for another day.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk about. I –“ she paused again. She breathed in the chill air, letting it sting her lungs. “I want to show you something and then I wish to ask you a favor.” Sariel took another swig of the bottle before handing it back over to Cassandra.

Cassandra looked wearily at her, before she nodded her head. “Continue, please.”

It was now or never, she had to do it. Someone had to see. Sariel hooked her finger under the top of her hood before yanking it back, her dark hair falling loose, but her bronzed skin completely exposed to the moonlight and Cassandra. Sariel finally turned to face her, waiting to see a look of shock. Anything that might give Cassandra away. It was the opposite though. Cassandra was unmoving, like she understood. Her expression was neutral, but her tone remained delicate.

“How is that even possible?”

“We traveled in time and you ask how something as simple as this is possible?”

“Right, sorry. Foolish question. But why?”

Sariel took the time to explain what the vallaslin really meant, another mistake of the Dalish that Solas so enjoyed pointing out. The tale continued on though, about how Solas wanted to remove the marks if she so wished it. It was out of nowhere however when he decided to end the entire affair, something she still couldn’t wrap her head around. A bottle of wine later and the story was told and the silence prevailed once more. Sariel could feel her body tingling from the alcohol. It did little to ease the tight ball of tension in her chest, however.

“Sariel, I wish I could say something in response. But I’m at a loss for words.” Cassandra rubbed the side of her face in thought. “Perhaps I’m not the best to help you with this after all.”

“No, that’s not why I told you this.”

“Then why?”

“I need someone to tell me it is okay not to hate him, not tonight anyways.” Alcohol made the words come easier, faster. It made any of this possible. She felt no shame in it, whatever it took to make the pain go away, even if it was for a little while. “I think if I went to anyone else, they would try marching me to the rotunda and demand answers, a fight. That’s not what I want. Right now I just wanted to tell someone, someone who wouldn’t judge me. I just want to drink and forget for one night. That’s all.”

Sariel held the empty bottle in her hand, running her slim fingers over the glass. Cassandra had already proven to be a true friend and ally, but she still never felt comfortable demanding much from these people. She hadn’t felt this comfortable around others since her clan and even that was a stretch. Sariel tightened her grip on the bottle, tossing it past the wal and into the nothing before them. The darkness swallowed it whole.

“Did you come to me because of my reading habits?” Cassandra asked.

The two women stared at each other before bursting into laughter. The tension lessened. It was small and miniscule, but it was something. The laughter soon disappeared into the nothingness as well though. Sariel slipped down off the parapet with a little less grace than usual, her legs feeling like jelly. She wasn’t sure how long they had been there or maybe it was just the alcohol doing its magic on her.

“Well if we are going to do this, will need more to drink.” Cassandra stood straight, following Sariel's lead. “Come on, I know where we can _borrow_ from.”

Sariel smiled, pulling her hood back up. “Lead the way, Seeker.” Cassandra walked towards the stairs, Sariel tailing behind. “And Cassandra? Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“No I mean-“

“I know what you mean." Cassandra stopped, looking back at her. "I hope you know I'm grateful for your friendship. So out of respect of that friendship, I will honor your wish and allow you to grieve or forgive in your own way. However, I will also say because we are friends, you should hate him. He did more than just end a relationship."

Cassandra's eyes lingered on her bare face, Sariel reflexively reached to touch where her Vallaslin should have been. “That’s all I need tonight.”

“Then let’s go see about borrowing those drinks.” Cassandra turned away, but Sariel didn’t need to see Cassandra’s face to know she was wearing a big smile. She plastered her own smile on. She got what she wanted after all, the time to drink her pain away.

 


End file.
